Customer Reviews

Stravinsky: Firebird Ballet, Petroushka Ballet, Symphony in 3 Movements, Scherzo a la Russe, 4 Studies; Sir Simon Rattle

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD offers a very nice slice of Igor's output--it's esp. good to have a complete, original 1910 version of "The Firebird," (thought I'll admit to being a little disappointed with the rendering of that great, whirling passage in the Introduction that must have been pinched for the opening bar of the ancient "Batman" TV series...).

And it's a good value for two discs.

But be warned: the recording sounds excellent, but it is done with "full dynamic range"; I have to double the volume to hear the quiet passages, and then the loud moments become earth-shaking. Yes, I've tried both discs in multiple stereo systems. I don't mind this kind of fully-immersed listening from time to time, but it is not always convenient, and this disc suffers for that. I hope the very pure are not dissuaded by this complaint--I salute you for supporting the producer's boldness, and ignoring this listener's timidity.

I love listening to music with full scores, it makes the music more clearly and less confusing. I'm lucky that I purchased The Firebird (1910)Dover miniature score for a great price so I could follow the great masterpiece. I'm annoyed though that this recording comes with Petrushka (1947) because Dover only has the 1911 version, and I'm going to have to look somewhere else.

Besides the experience of actually seeing the music, the quality was excellent. The Introduction is ominous, the variation of the Firebird is playful, and the Round dance is beautiful. I didn't realy like that the Infernal Dance wasn't that thunderous and went a little too fast, but the hypnotic bercuse made up for it.

I love this recording.